In Search of Constantinople

This guidebook says nothing about where to stay in Istanbul, what to eat, and what to buy. Yet, it is essential to take it with you. Sergey Ivanov, a specialist in the history and culture of Byzantium and a professor at the Higher School of Economics, invites the reader to undertake a dual journey—through space and time. The book will lead you through the streets of Istanbul to the remnants of Constantinople, which still hold the memory of its grandeur, beauty, and diversity. Despite the indifference of Turkish authorities to these unique monuments, they can still tell much to the attentive observer—dramatic and sad stories, funny and touching ones, filled with adventures. The pages of the guide will revive the City before your eyes, as if it had never disappeared: it will take you through palaces, monasteries, hospitals, and schools, introduce you to emperors and patriarchs, generals and eunuchs, merchants and craftsmen, saints and prostitutes, and draw you into the whirlpool of the turbulent and rich life that once pulsed in the capital of a great empire.